Captain 'lightly thrown off' sinking Italian ship

Nick Squires

The captain of the Costa Concordia did not abandon his ship but was inadvertently "thrown" off the cruise liner during a chaotic evacuation, his lawyer said on Tuesday at the start of a long-anticipated trial.

Captain Francesco Schettino appeared in court in Grosseto, in Tuscany, the nearest city to the island of Giglio, where the ship capsized on the night of January 13, 2012, with the loss of 32 lives. The 52-year-old captain, who is accused of manslaughter, had not deliberately left hundreds of terrified passengers and crew members to their fate but had been "lightly thrown off" the ship by accident, said Domenico Pepe, his lawyer.

"The idea that he abandoned the ship is a wrong interpretation," Mr Pepe said outside court. "We want the truth to come out of this trial."

Captain Schettino has previously claimed that he accidentally "tripped" and tumbled into a lifeboat, which was then lowered and took him to shore. He has been vilified by survivors for leaving the ship before all the 4200 passengers and crew had been evacuated from the vessel. His refusal to go back on board provoked a reprimand from a coast guard officer who was trying to coordinate the evacuation, a recorded exchange that is likely to be played in court.

People sunbathe on the rocks as the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is seen in the background, on the Tuscan island of Giglio. Photo: AP

The captain, wearing a navy blue jacket and a white open-necked shirt, sat with his lawyers in front of the three judges conducting the trial.

Domnica Cemortan, a Moldovan dancer on the ship, with whom the captain dined and then invited on to the bridge on the night of the disaster, was in court.

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She has denied having a sexual relationship with the married captain.

Miss Cemortan, 26, is seeking £255,000 ($278,000) in damages from Captain Schettino and Costa Cruises, claiming that he and the company failed to defend her publicly and that the company failed to keep its promise to rehire her after the disaster.

He denies all the charges, claiming that the reef the ship hit was not marked on his nautical charts and that after the collision he saved lives through his skilled manoeuvring of the liner, steering it into shallow water rather than letting it drift out to sea. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in jail.

He says he has been made a scapegoat by Costa Cruises, claiming that managers encouraged him to sail close to Giglio to provide a spectacle for passengers.

The trial was adjourned after less than an hour because of a week-long, nationwide lawyers' strike. It resumes on July 17. Up to 700 witnesses and plaintiffs are expected to attend the trial, meaning it could last for years.

Captain Schettino has previously claimed that he accidentally "tripped" and tumbled into a lifeboat.